Javanese script

Javanese Aksara Jawa Åksårå Jåwå ꦲꦏ꧀ꦱꦫꦗꦮ
Script type	Abugida
Time period	c. 1500s CE – present
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Javanese Sundanese Madurese Sasak Malay Indonesian Kawi Sanskrit
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi script Tamil Brahmi Pallava script Kawi script Javanese
Sister systems	Balinese alphabet Batak alphabet Baybayin scripts Lontara alphabet Makasar Sundanese script Rencong alphabet Rejang alphabet
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Java (361), ​Javanese
Unicode
Unicode alias	Javanese
Unicode range	U+A980–U+A9DF
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

This article contains letters from the Javanese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Javanese characters.

Javanese script (natively known as Aksara Jawa, Hanacaraka, Carakan, and Dentawyanjana)^[1] is one of Indonesia's traditional scripts developed on the island of Java. The script is primarily used to write the Javanese language and has also been used to write several other regional languages such as Sundanese and Madurese, the regional lingua franca Malay, as well as the historical languages Kawi and Sanskrit. It heavily influenced the Balinese script from which the system for Sasak developed. Javanese script was actively used by the Javanese people for writing day-to-day and literary texts from at least the mid-16th century CE until the mid-20th century CE, before it was gradually supplanted by the Latin alphabet. Today, the script is taught in the Yogyakarta Special Region as well as the provinces of Central Java and East Java as part of the local curriculum, but with very limited function in everyday use.^[2][3]

Javanese script is an abugida writing system which consists of 20 to 33 basic letters, depending on the language being written. Like other Brahmic scripts, each letter (called an aksara) represents a syllable with the inherent vowel /a/ or /ɔ/ which can be changed with the placement of diacritics around the letter. Each letter has a conjunct form called pasangan, which nullifies the inherent vowel of the previous letter. Traditionally, the script is written without spaces between words (scriptio continua) but is interspersed with a group of decorative punctuation.